Forrettabarinn is a modern european restaurant in 101, Reykjavik.
Editorially verified May 28, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Why locals love it: Down in the old west-end harbour streets rather than on Laugavegur, this small-plates room rewards anyone who wanders a few blocks off the tourist spine.
Tip: Build a meal from four or five starters. The harbourside location keeps it quieter than the centre.
Address: Nylendugata 14, 101 Reykjavik
Tiny side-street restaurant on Hverfisgata 12 from three friends, Asian sharing plates with langoustine, yuzu and miso glazes; Michelin-recognised plate.
Why locals love it: It hides above the Hverfisgata 12 pizza-and-bar building, a Michelin-listed kitchen rewriting its globe-trotting menu weekly that many visitors walk straight past.
Tip: The menu changes every week, so no two meals match. Book ahead, the room is genuinely small.
Vinstukan Tiu Sopar is a wine bar room in 101. The kitchen punches above a wine bar's weight; the halibut and burnt broccoli are worth ordering.
Why locals love it: Easy to miss behind a plain Laugavegur door, this natural-wine bar pours funky bottles with serious small plates that locals guard as their after-work spot.
Tip: The kitchen punches above a wine bar's weight; the halibut and burnt broccoli are worth ordering.
Thrainn Freyr Vigfusson's 17-seat Michelin-starred counter behind a Laugavegur graffiti door, four-hour tasting at the kitchen with retro cocktail bar.
Why locals love it: Entry is through Sumac with no sign of its own, an eleven-seat Michelin-starred counter that the crowds streaming past on Laugavegur never realise is there.
Tip: You book weeks ahead and enter through the Sumac grill. Two seatings a night, eleven seats only.
Natural-only wine bar on Hverfisgata across from the National Theatre, Ragnar Kjartansson mural; bistro plates, Icelandic beer on tap, micro-roast coffee.
Why locals love it: A quiet daytime cafe that flips at five into a natural-wine bar paired with oysters and charcuterie, often missed for the bigger-name wine rooms on the same street.
Tip: Tue-Sun from 17:00 for the wine-bar shift.
Froken Reykjavik Kitchen and Bar (Modern European) in Reykjavik: Dinner runs 18:00-22:00. Smart-casual room with a long bar; book for the winter-garden seats.
Why locals love it: Tucked into the ground floor of Hotel Reykjavik Saga, an art-deco room of open kitchen and winter garden that quietly turns out modern Northern European plates without the Laugavegur crowds.
Tip: Dinner runs 18:00-22:00. Smart-casual room with a long bar; book for the winter-garden seats.
Tiny side-street restaurant on Hverfisgata 12 from three friends, Asian sharing plates with langoustine, yuzu and miso glazes; Michelin-recognised plate.
Why locals love it: It hides above the Hverfisgata 12 pizza-and-bar building, a Michelin-listed kitchen rewriting its globe-trotting menu weekly that many visitors walk straight past.
Tip: The menu changes every week, so no two meals match. Book ahead, the room is genuinely small.
Vinstukan Tiu Sopar is a wine bar room in 101. The kitchen punches above a wine bar's weight; the halibut and burnt broccoli are worth ordering.
Why locals love it: Easy to miss behind a plain Laugavegur door, this natural-wine bar pours funky bottles with serious small plates that locals guard as their after-work spot.
Tip: The kitchen punches above a wine bar's weight; the halibut and burnt broccoli are worth ordering.
Thrainn Freyr Vigfusson's 17-seat Michelin-starred counter behind a Laugavegur graffiti door, four-hour tasting at the kitchen with retro cocktail bar.
Why locals love it: Entry is through Sumac with no sign of its own, an eleven-seat Michelin-starred counter that the crowds streaming past on Laugavegur never realise is there.
Tip: You book weeks ahead and enter through the Sumac grill. Two seatings a night, eleven seats only.
Green fisherman's hut by the old harbour on Geirsgata since 1992, world-famous lobster soup plus grilled fish and lamb skewers; Sea Baron of Reykjavik.
Why locals love it: A green shack among the harbour sheds with barrels for seats, it looks like nothing, yet inside is the langoustine soup travellers cross the city to find.
Tip: Seating is communal on barrels and benches. The langoustine soup with bread is the only order you need.
Natural-only wine bar on Hverfisgata across from the National Theatre, Ragnar Kjartansson mural; bistro plates, Icelandic beer on tap, micro-roast coffee.
Why locals love it: A quiet daytime cafe that flips at five into a natural-wine bar paired with oysters and charcuterie, often missed for the bigger-name wine rooms on the same street.
Tip: Tue-Sun from 17:00 for the wine-bar shift.
Froken Reykjavik Kitchen and Bar (Modern European) in Reykjavik: Dinner runs 18:00-22:00. Smart-casual room with a long bar; book for the winter-garden seats.
Why locals love it: Tucked into the ground floor of Hotel Reykjavik Saga, an art-deco room of open kitchen and winter garden that quietly turns out modern Northern European plates without the Laugavegur crowds.
Tip: Dinner runs 18:00-22:00. Smart-casual room with a long bar; book for the winter-garden seats.
